Change of Plans
by TildaOfNorth
Summary: After the events of TDW, Thor is spending time on Midgard, completely unaware of his brother being still alive. A brother, whose plan was to be a king, not to run for his life.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Soo... This is probably a bad idea. I have written a lot but the point is that this story isn't completed yet. We shall see if I can do that. Anyway, this story has a weird story. If one can say that. The point is, that the dream this story begins with is actually mine. Of course it wasn't** ** _exactly_** **like that, but mainly yes. And I thought, why not? Also, I begun writing this before Age of Ultron came out, so please forgive me, some detalis that do not match with the cinematic universe. Maybe I could just say that this is an AU.**

 _Thor was walking in a great room. The sun was shining somewhere and pale light shone through a big, wall-sized window. The floor was covered with dark grey stone tiles. The room was very high, but except the little light from outside, the shadows controlled the view in front of him. It was very quiet, as if the whole place had been abandoned._

 _He walked onwards and noticed a body at his feet. It was twisted into unnatural position, limbs pointing in weird directions. His eyes were closed. Thor stared at his brother's dead form quietly and it felt like something heavy was pressing him onto the floor. Then the whole room was covered in bodies, the same face again and again, so that there was very little floor to step on. The one at his feet was now wearing the same gag he had once had, when Thor had taken him home from New York. The pressure on him increased all the time. It was still completely silent._

Thor's conscious mind started to get the upper hand as he understood more and more about his surroundings. Then he realized that he was dreaming and opened his eyes. He sat up on his bed and looked around. The room was dark, no light was coming through the curtains and the eerie silence was gone. Some pipes or another one of Stark's machines was keeping a small, bubbling noise and the sounds of the city hummed behind the windows.

Thor wiped the hair off of his face and realised that his forehead was sweaty. The pressing feeling was still there. He wasn't used to nightmares. He had them very rarely and when that happened, it was always sort of panicked feeling; running away from some nameless horror or hurrying knowing that he wouldn't make it in time. This time it was different. He had been having these sort of dreams for a couple of weeks, even though it had been months since Loki's death.

"Loki…" he whispered and sighed. "Can you not leave me alone?" Then he realised how stupid it sounded and shook his head. He wouldn't sleep again this night, even the glowing numbers of the alarm clock told him that it was only four hours past midnight. Thor dropped his feet on the soft carpet next to his bed and straightened himself. He might as well drink something, he was thirsty.

The lights lit up on the ceiling when he stepped out of his room. The soft golden glow pleased him, it made him feel like he was at home, even if the corridor was otherwise far from Asgardian grandeur.

The actual kitchen was couple of floors down, but Thor had no desire of going there so he directed for a smaller one. Sometimes he had to wonder, if Stark ever needed the whole tower. On the other hand, he had grown up as a prince in a palace. His bare feet made a small noise on the carpet which covered the whole floor, except a small space in front of table tops. The kitchen lit up just as the corridor had, when he stepped in and took a glass from the cupboard. It looked like it was meant more for alcohol than for water. It didn't surprise Thor. Anyway, he opened the tap and waited the flowing water turn cold before he filled the glass and walked to the table.

He chose a chair from the door's end, because the other end was connected to the glass wall and right now he didn't want to be seen by people on the streets. (Which had nothing to do with the fact that he was wearing only his pajamas.) For a while, he just sat there and watched the dawning horizon behind the houses.

After a few moments he turned as he heard footsteps and saw as Steve Rogers walked in, wearing checkered pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He spotted Thor sitting at the table and looked like he had interrupted something.

"Oh, Thor, I… Bad time? I'll just take water and be off."

"Do not worry", Thor answered and nodded at his glass on the table. "If you want to stay, you are free to do so." Steve nodded, filled his glass and sat on the opposite chair.

"Not the only one then", he said and looked at Thor's half empty glass.

"I had… trouble with sleeping", Thor said calmly. "Nothing more." Steve nodded again and fixed his gaze on the table, thinking. Thor respected this man. He was calm and fair and rational, the one you could always count on. A perfect king, he couldn't help thinking. He also appreciated that he didn't ask more questions, usually he didn't like people doing that. Except Jane, but Jane was a whole different thing. This time, though, he had an urge to speak.

"…Rogers?"

"Steve, if you don't mind."

"Steve, do you ever have nightmares?" He knew he sounded like a child.

"Of course I do." He lifted his face from the table and looked at Thor. "Something… you want to talk about?"

"This is silly. I am a warrior. I'm a prince, almost a king! I shouldn't be distressed by mere dreams." Steve frowned.

"That isn't true. What was it about?" Before Thor could answer, he added: "Sorry, it's not my business. Forget that I asked."

"No, no. It's… fine. I just… It seems that I'm incapable of sleeping without Loki sneaking into my mind. It's becoming wearing." He said his brother's name very carefully, like it was something fragile which could break if you handled it too roughly and swept his face with his palm.

"Trust me, I know what that's like", Steve said and his gaze turned absent for a moment.

"You have dreams about my brother too?" asked Thor, confused. Steve chuckled.

"No, I mean having same kind of nightmares night after night."

"I see." They fell into silence. After a moment Steve rose and took his glass.

"Well, I'm going back to sleep. Stark's probably going to give me a hell lot of work tomorrow, still a few valuable hours left before that. You'll be okay, right?"

"Of course." Steve nodded and left the room. Thor remained where he was until the sun had risen, before he returned to his room.

... ... ...

It had been four days since Thor had arrived. Stark Tower was big enough for 20 people to live in and not come across with each other if that was what they wanted. At the moment there were only four people sleeping in there. Thor had come to Midgard to visit Jane, and after a week, when he was leaving, he decided to visit his other friends too. Why not, were they not his comrades as well? They had fought together after all. So here he was, with Stark, Banner and Rogers; Banner had said that he had some experiments to do in Stark's lab and Rogers was here just to say hello. He hadn't seen agents Romanoff or Barton, but considering their job, he didn't wonder why.

Stark was being hospitable and Thor found himself being happy here, although he already missed Jane and his home. For the first time he also had time to actually get familiar with the city and its surroundings. The first days he spent wandering in the city, but he had decided then that it was too… restless to spend too much time in. So this day he had gone further away.

 _"Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area"_ , had Rogers… Steve said yesterday, _"is a wonderful place. You really should go there. If you need some relaxing. It's great."_

And he was right. After he had spent more than four hours walking between trees and streams and waterfalls, he decided that would Steve ever suggest him anything in the future, he would listen to him. The landscape was magnificent, and even if it couldn't quite match Asgardian environment, it was just what Thor had needed. Last weeks had been tiring despite Jane's warm company, much due to the nightmares.

Thor had put his hammer down (it was still the fastest way to travel) and was leaning into a tree. It was a magnifient thing, old and big, branches bent downward and covered with moss. It resembled a giant octopus. Thor picked a short thread from the hem of his red t-shirt. He had been given Midgardian clothes, since his Asgardian armour was sometimes a little too conspicuous. He flicked the thread away when he heard a distant rumble.

It couldn't be… he thought and glanced to the sky which was already turning orange behind the trees. Then, without a warning a huge flash of light hit the ground less than one hundred meters away from the place he was standing. Thor grabbed his hammer and ran forward. It was the Bifröst, no doubt. But who and why…? The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared and Thor saw three figures in the middle of the spot the light had hit, now decorated with the symbol the Bifröst had left. They were fighting, and he felt a rush of anger as he realized that two of them were Chitauri. The third one had a knife in his hand and before Thor had reached them, both of the Chitauri had fell to the ground, now laying unmoving. The man – for a moment Thor thought it was a woman – straightened and looked down, knees trembling. Thor didn't see his face until he was standing right behind him and he turned. The man's eyes widened for a moment, then he said: "Hello, brother", and collapsed limply onto the ground, unconscious.

For a moment Thor just stared. He just watched as Loki fell and a small pool of blood formed under him. His head was empty, everything that remained was just the shock. Thor shook his head slowly, not believing what he was looking at. It was not possible. It wasn't. This wasn't right. And still…

The fighting style was definitely Loki's. His voice had been raspy, but it was Loki's. The man laying at his feet had Loki's face, even his eyes were closed and he was very pale. That meant, paler than usual. His hair was black as Loki's but it was messy and long, longer than he had ever seen. It was also wet with fresh blood, and that was the point when Thor realized that he was still standing and holding his breath. He inhaled quickly and kneeled on the ground, hands hovering above his brother's chest.

"Loki…?" he tried. His voice was unsure, partly because he didn't know what to do and partly because he still didn't quite believe this. He slowly lowered his hand and touched Loki's chest. He was wearing a simple dark tunic and black trousers. The fabric felt unfamiliar and rough under his palm.

"Loki?" he said again and put his other had under his head and turned it a little. No response. He checked his pulse and somewhere under the confusion and shock he was relieved as he found it, weak and intermittent, but it was there. He scooped Loki carefully up into his arms and lifted him on his shoulder so that he could get hold of Mjölnir with the other hand. Then he lifted the hammer and they were gone in seconds.

An hour later, when SHIELD cars and agents arrived, all they found was a knife and two Chitauri bodies.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello, and this is, in all possibility the quickest update I'm ever going to do. Why, well, turned out that I sort of forgot that this was part of the first chapter too. So this is chapter 1 part 2. The next chapter is going to be longer.**

Thor landed on the outer deck of Stark Tower and felt as Loki's body jerked on his shoulder by the force of the sudden stop. He shoved aside all his feelings as they would only confuse him even more right now and walked inside. Then, feeling extremely stupid and anxious he walked into a lift and pressed the button that took him to lower levels. As the doors opened again, he found himself standing face to face with Bruce Banner. Before Bruce could do anything but look completely baffled, Thor rushed past him and lifted Loki from his shoulder and laid him down on Stark's white couch.

"I need your help, Doctor Banner", he said and noticed that his voice trembled a little. "I… I don't…" he couldn't continue, he didn't find the words.

"Is that… _Loki?"_ Bruce asked and walked slowly closer. Thor sat next to his brother and looked at him.

"I don't know", he said. "He can't be. And still, I think he is."

"You said he died."

"I saw it."

"Then how…?"

"I don't know."

"He's bleeding on the sofa."

"Can you help?" Thor lifted his eyes from his little brother and looked at the Doctor. There was such desperation and confusion in his eyes that his gaze alone would have been enough for Bruce to help.

"Let's see what I can do", he said and walked quickly closer. At that point, Steve and Tony entered the room.

"What – the – hell?" Stark's voice filled the room. "You're totally ruining my furniture here! Who is th– holy shit." He stopped and stared at the man on his couch.

"Thor, what's going on?" asked Steve, he too was staring at Loki.

"I wish I could tell you, but I am afraid I don't know the answer", Thor said weakly.

"We need to move him", said Bruce. "Tony, I assume that you have some sort of… sickbay somewhere here."

"Kind of…"

"Thor, if you don't mind?" he said then and continued, "Tony, where?" Thor lifted Loki and followed Bruce, who followed Tony. They went up again and into the laboratory rooms and Tony showed them a small space with a very simple hospital bed and some medical devices. Thor laid Loki down and Bruce started working immediately.

"Take off his shirt", he ordered and attached Loki to an ECG device with thin wires. The device started peeping in the rhythm of his heartbeat.

Thor dropped Loki's tunic on the floor and swallowed his shock as he saw the wound on his side and the nasty cut next to his collarbone. His whole torso was bruised and the lower injury was bleeding a lot. Bruce examined him quickly and told Steve to press the wound until he managed to press a fresh bandage on it and stop the bleeding.

"It's not dangerously deep", he told the rest of them. "He's just lost a lot of blood. But he'll be fine."

"Thank you, Doctor", Thor said quietly. Bruce continued working with the second cut and nodded.

"Just tell me what happened."

"I'd like to hear that too", said Steve, now cleaning his hands from the blood.

"I totally agree", said Tony. "There's gotta be a hell of a good reason why I'm having your dead crazy terrorist brother breathing in my tower and ruining my stuff."

"I have already told you that in the end he died – at least fought with honour", Thor said. "He might have done terrible things but he sacrificed himself protecting me. Do not speak ill of him."

"Don't lose your temper, Thor, we are helping him", Steve soothed him, although his eyes had a hard look in them. "How did he get here?"

"I… He came through the Bifröst. With two Chitauri soldiers. Do not worry, they are not a threat anymore."

"Anymore?"

"Loki killed them." Silence followed. Then Steve spoke.

"So… He... I don't know. Why would he kill his allies?"

"They are not allies anymore. Loki betrayed them by failing in conquering Midgard."

"Next question. How is he here?" Tony didn't look very pleased at the moment. "I mean, what is the possibility that all the places in the universe, he manages to land under my nose?"

"I do not know", Thor said and looked at his brother. Bruce finished with the wound and cleaned his hands.

"He looks pretty beaten up."

"Yeah, hell, whatever. Fix him and then get him out of my place", said Tony and marched out, leaving Thor, Bruce and Steve looking after him.

"How – " started Thor, anger obvious in his voice.

"He did throw him out of the window", Steve reminded him. "And even if he might have done something good afterwards, it doesn't erase his crimes here." Thor was silent. He felt bad for his brother and for himself. For Loki, because he had done bad things, they weren't forgotten and he was injured, and for himself, because it seemed that Loki had managed to betray him again. Why, he had no idea. The fact was that his brother was laying in front of him, and he was alive.

"Well, um, I'm going downstairs, if you don't mind", Steve said and disappeared.

"I'll go too", Bruce said and before he left Thor and Loki alone, he turned and said:

"Tell me if there's any trouble, okay?" Thor nodded and as the man's footsteps hushed, he turned his attention back to Loki. He was indeed very pale, but Banner had said that he had lost blood. All the same it made Thor feel bad for him.

"Where have you been?" he muttered to the unmoving figure.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here we go. I'm borrowing my brother's laptop, since my keyboard of** ** _my_** **laptop isn't working. And isn't that awful. Anyway. Enjoy the chapter, if possible.**

Thor stayed next to his brother for hours. Nothing changed, except his breathing seemed to ease a little as the time passed. Bruce visited them a couple of times and brought water and food for Thor, who didn't feel like eating. Once he found his cheeks wet with confused tears he hadn't noticed. It was night already when Loki opened his eyes.

Thor didn't notice this at first, he kept staring at the ECG device's display, where small lines drew the pattern of his brother's heartbeats. When he turned his head, he saw Loki staring at him.

"Loki!" he said, surprised, and was about to lift him up.

"Don't", said Loki and Thor stopped. Loki lifted himself into a sitting position.

"Loki, where have you been? What has happened to you? I thought – I thought you were dead!"

"Well that wouldn't be the first time, would it?" He sounded bored. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you." Loki sighed.

"Yes of course. Of all places – I have to drop there where you happen to be. And, if you don't mind me asking, where am I?"

"We are in the Tower of Stark. His friends helped to heal you."

"Oh I have such a good luck indeed", he moaned, closed his eyes and dropped himself on his back again, hands covering his eyes.

"Loki, what happened? You got stabbed in the chest. You died in my arms. How, how can you be here?"

"And why exactly do you think that I should tell you?" His voice was poisonous. Thor shook his head.

"Loki. You are my brother. I care for you. I have every right to know."

"Do you? _Do you?"_ He rose again and stared Thor. "You left my body to rot in that cursed place! You left me like I was nothing more but just a dead pet, a horse without value after you cannot benefit from it!"

Thor was surprised by the sudden strength behind Loki's words, but that didn't prevent him from defending himself.

"I had every intention to come to get you after I had stopped Malekith!" The way their conversation had turned into an argument already was something Thor wasn't pleased about, but it really wasn't surprising either.

"You could have moved me to somewhere more dignified place than a plain of ash! You keep calling me your brother but you treat me like I was nothing but a mere nuisance! Do you have any idea how full of dust my lungs were after that storm?"

"Loki, whatever you say, you cannot change the reality. You are my brother, I care for you and I am immeasurably happy that you are alive." Under all the confusion and the words of hatred that Loki had spat at him, he realized that his words were true. He was more than happy. Loki didn't seem too impressed but kept quiet.

"I am sorry for I didn't come to you soon enough, but can we at least try to be brothers again without fighting? I would like to hear how and why you did this. What happened?" Loki sighed again but seemed more composed now.

"I never got stabbed by that blade", he finally said and looked at his hands. "It was an illusion. It was me you were…holding, but the blade wasn't real. I wanted out of the cell and you gave me an opportunity to escape. I also had… some plans to implement what for you had to think I was dead. And for a moment everything was fine, before I came across with some old friends."

"The Chitauri?" Thor was a little hurt by the idea that Loki needed him to believe he was dead, whatever was the reason.

"Yes, the Chitauri. They thought that we had some unfinished business. I disagreed. So there went my plans and I had to run. That's it, are you happy now?"

"Would it be too much to ask what your plans were?"

"Yes." Thor didn't ask more questions.

Loki shifted his legs and stood up, looking for his shirt. He spotted it on the floor and grabbed it, and Thor couldn't avoid hearing a sharp take of breath as his muscles and wounds protested.

"Let me help you", he said and moved his hands ready to take the shirt.

"I am capable of dressing myself, thank you", Loki answered crusty and turned his back to Thor as he put the shirt on.

"Well", he said then, "it was lovely to see you. Tell the Allfather my greetings. Or actually, better if you do not." He turned to leave.

"You cannot just leave like that – Loki!" He ran forward as Loki's knees betrayed him and he fell. Thor got a hold of him before he hit his face and lifted him up. Loki cursed under his breath and shoved Thor's hands off.

"Brother, please. Do not leave yet. You need to heal, do not think that I haven't noticed your injuries."

"I'm fine. And I'm not staying here. Especially not here."

"They helped you!"

"Yes, and I tried to kill them. I wouldn't be surprised if they had tried that as well, even if that wasn't the result earlier."

"Things have changed, Loki. And if I remember correctly, you tried to kill me as well." Loki's eyes narrowed.

"No matter how the things are Thor, but I'm not staying here."

"You cannot leave either."

"And who's stopping me? You?"

"Yes, me. Just for few days." Loki leaned to the bed behind him and looked towards the door.

"Your friends will not be pleased."

"Perhaps not", Thor said, smiling. "But I will. And I am." Loki just snorted and looked away.

"Wait here", Thor continued and stepped out of the door.

... ... ...

The journey from the lab to the lower floors was weird. He had been sitting next to Loki for hours. Thor was afraid that the time he got back all this would turn out to be some dream and Loki would be gone again. Inside him confusion, anger, fear, love and pure delight fought each other so badly that he felt like his whole body might explode. Before that happened, he had reached the "party deck", the very same one where they had once found Loki, and was not surprised to find Steve and Tony awake, the latter holding a glass of amber liquid.

"Loki has awoken", he declared and Tony almost chocked on his drink.

"And you left him alone? Fuck." He placed his glass on the counter top and rushed out immediately. Steve glanced at him, then at Thor, said "Perhaps not the brightest idea", and gestured him to follow. They joined Tony, who looked extremely nervous, in the lift and Thor opened his mouth.

"I understand your reaction, but Loki is not well. Would you be kind enough to let me keep him here a while longer? Just so I can take him back home."

"No way. He has probably smashed half of the floor already", Stark replied and his eyes widened as he began to think all the expensive and fine technical instruments that the floor contained. "If that son of a bitch has touched anything – anything at all, I promise to – " Thor was happy that he didn't hear the ending of that sentence, as the lift doors opened and Tony cut off, rushing out and checking everything. Thor himself felt his anxiousness increasing as he walked to the closed door and opened it, but his worrying was unnecessary. Loki was laying on the bed and staring the ceiling, fingering a pen. He didn't even turn to look at them as they entered the room once again.

"Hey you", Tony said and pointed at Loki, who still didn't look at him, "Goldilocks here says that you're awake. So get the hell out of my place." Loki chuckled. "I told you they wouldn't like it", he said to Thor, threw the pen in the air and caught it.

"And I'm saying that you're in no condition to leave. Stark, I am sorry but I have to demand that Loki can stay here. I will take him when he is well enough to travel through Bifröst, but until then, he is staying here." Tony looked shocked.

"Can you believe this guy?" He looked at Steve, who just stared back. Then the door opened and Bruce stepped in, still wearing his normal clothes instead of pajamas. Loki seemed to turn a little more wary by the sight of him and quickly rose to a sitting position, eyes scanning his surroundings much quicker than previously.

"What's going on here?" Bruce asked, looking much less panicked than everybody else in the room.

"I tell you what", Tony started immediately. "Our golden friend here thinks that I'm going to play a host to a maniac murderer!" He pointed at Loki and Bruce finally seemed to notice that he had his eyes open.

"Oh. Well, can you discuss about this later? I would really like to look at my, um… patient now." Loki's expression changed into something that no one could read, but Tony didn't seem to notice him. He looked very annoyed and started protesting.

"My house, my rules. I'm not gonna let you – "

"I'll go now", Steve said and left the room.

"What?" Tony looked after him. "Hell, whatever. I'm not gonna –"

"Just out, now!" Bruce raised his voice and everyone froze. Thor's fingers found Mjölnir and Loki had gone stiff. Tony raised his hands and backed off a little.

"Okay, man. No problem here. Just take it easy." He left the room quickly. Bruce was left with Thor and Loki, who both looked alert. He chuckled.

"Don't worry, I have him under control… the other guy." Thor relaxed and let go of his hammer but Loki still eyed him warily.

"Right, so, I'm Bruce. Bruce Banner", Bruce said and looked at Loki. "I guess we haven't really met." Loki just frowned. Thor looked at them and decided it best to say something.

"Loki, doctor Banner helped with your injuries. You don't have to be afraid." Loki glared at him.

"I'm not afraid, you fool." He seemed still uneasy, though.

"So, how are you feeling?" Bruce asked and nodded at him. Loki looked like he wasn't sure what to respond. His eyes quickly went on Thor and then returned to the small man in front of him.

"Perhaps you should come back later, doctor", Thor said, but Bruce disagreed.

"No. I think… I mean, if that's okay, I was thinking if you could leave us for a moment." Thor was surprised by this. "I don't think that is a wise idea, with all respect", he said and glanced at Loki who wore a strange expression on his face. "I mean, I do know that you can protect yourself if you needed to, but…"

"It'll be okay", Bruce told him and smiled a little. Thor eyed at him and the looked at Loki, who was still quiet.

"Very well", he said slowly and nodding to Bruce, left the room.

Bruce remained where he was, examining his fingernails. He was well aware that Loki was looking at him. Then he raised his head and met his gaze.

"You didn't say how you're feeling", he said, walking a few steps closer. The situation was one of the weirdest he had ever been in. Here was the Norse over thousand-year-old God of Mischief, who had tried to subjugate Earth with an alien army, with whose body the Hulk had beaten a hole into the floor of this tower and who was supposed to be dead, sitting in front of him on a hospital bed.

"I have to admit, doctor, I am confused", Loki said and looked at him with tired eyes. "It has been only a year since I tried to conquer your realm and still you are willing to treat me as your patient. Why?"

Bruce had been expecting something like this. He wasn't a stupid man, after all. Far from it.

"Well, I really don't have a reason to do otherwise. I mean, it has been a year. Yeah, the things you did in here weren't very nice, but as a doctor, even if I'm not a real one, when I see a guy looking as bad as you did, I just can't leave it be. And let's admit, I am curious. Thor told us what happened."

Loki lowered his gaze. "I see", he said but didn't look like it.

"So", Bruce continued after an awkward pause, "would you mind if I… examined you?"

"Is that what you want to do?" asked Loki incredulously. "To examine me?"

"More or less." Loki lifted his eyebrows and Bruce wondered if he had expected to be harmed in some way.

"Is that okay?" Bruce asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I believe that is… acceptable", Loki answered after few seconds. Bruce didn't miss that he still looked uncomfortable, but he believed that Thor's absence had helped him to feel more relaxed. Loki seemed different. The man who had ran all over New York blowing things up should probably exploded the tower too at this point and tried to escape a dozen times. The man in front of him now – he seemed more composed and clear-headed. There was also something in his eyes that Bruce couldn't quite recognize. It might have been sadness or submission or even fear, but he couldn't be sure. He was still taken aback by the fact that Loki hadn't resisted the check-up. So he walked next to the bed, lifted his hands and placed them on each side of Loki's torso, pressing gently.

"Tell me if you feel too much pain", Bruce told him and started going through the basic steps of physical examination, avoiding the sore spot on his abdomen.

"I heard you died", he said after he had examined his patient's upper torso and moved lower.

"Hmm", Loki hummed. "People really should know not to trust me on that by now." He hissed as Bruce's hands came too close to his wound.

"Sorry", Bruce said and took his hands away. "Do you have any problems with your head or neck?"

"Not particularly."

"What about arms or legs?"

After a moment Loki answered. "My legs… do feel a bit unstable at the moment. I believe the Chitauri blade was poisoned." Bruce frowned.

"But you don't have any other symptoms?"

"Not that I am aware."

"Good. But if you notice any problems, you should probably tell me." Loki glanced at him.

"Your caring is admirable, doctor, but if you think that I'm going to stay here, you are mistaken."

"Well I think I can't stop you. This is Tony's place." He gestured around the room.

"Indeed."

After a small pause, Bruce opened his mouth again.

"So, apart from that wound in your abdomen, you have nothing serious, as far as I can see. No broken ribs or other bones, just a couple of nasty bruises. But I think you should rest for a while." Loki nodded.

"Thank you, doctor. Now please, would you mind leaving me alone? I feel tired."

"Of course", Bruce said, thinking that Loki had actually thanked him. He really did look very tired and he left, leaving the god in peace. Through the vertical blinds on the wall he saw in the corner of his eye as Loki laid himself carefully on the bed. Bruce turned and walked into the elevator, his head full of mixed thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello again!**

 **My school just started, which means that I have just a month left before the first finals. Which means that I have to study a lot, and I fear that my updates won't be very regular any time soon. But I'll continue whenever I can. Also, this definitely is not one of my favourite chapters, please don't judge it too harshly. Or do. Just tell me if you think it's rubbish and I promise to apologize.**

Loki woke up after what felt like a few hours. He felt definitely better than before, although his stomach still felt sore. It took a lot to hurt an Aesir, and probably even more to hurt a Jotun, but the Chitauri had learned much. Thinking of the Chitauri however made him feel disgusted and he decided to focus on something else.

Loki turned his head so that his eyes met the ceiling. Dim artificial light brightened as he moved and he squinted. He had indeed managed to land in the wrong place. Loki had known that his destination would most likely be Midgard, but why Thor? He could try and stay positive; at least it would take longer for the Chitauri to find him now. It was a weak excuse, but somewhere very deep inside he was half glad to see him. Then Loki decided that that one, too, was a displeasing thought. He wasn't in need of company, Chitauri or anybody else. And above all else, he had ended up in his enemies' tower. _Why?_ Wasn't the humiliation of being weak in front of Thor enough? He had to face his brother's idiotic friends as well?

Loki hadn't been surprised by Stark's reaction. He hated the man and was certainly sure that the feeling was mutual. What had surprised him, was Banner. The man had to be aware that he had basically used him as a weapon against his friends. He had destroyed his city and exposed him to the world in a way he knew the man abhorred. _And still he showed me kindness like no one has done in years._

It made him feel uneasy.

But for now, Loki was in the Tower. Even though he could escape easily, he knew that he needed rest. And – _damn it_ – he didn't want to leave Thor just yet.

After a long time he stretched and carefully stood up. It hurt more than it should. He should be healing faster than this. Perhaps it was the Chitauri blade. Loki looked around him in the small room and sighed. Then he opened the door and stepped out, bare feet meeting the cold floor.

Quietly Loki navigated through the space which was clearly used in scientific purposes and reached the stairs. He didn't take the lift. It felt safer to explore his new environment in peace, without machines at first. It would be most harmful if he the lift doors would open just to reveal some of the actual residents standing in front of him.

The lights in the ceiling lit up as he took the first steps. Just walking the stairs down turned out to be more difficult than he had expected, as his weary body tried to warn him not to use it. Naturally, Loki didn't care.

Couple of floors down he heard voices and realized too late that the wall turned into a glass wall and he wasn't alone.

"Loki!" Thor jumped up from the sofa and ran forward, opening the door. Rogers had been sitting next to him and was looking at Loki suspiciously.

"Loki you shouldn't be up! What are you doing here?" Loki frowned.

"I got bored. Do you truly think that I can entertain myself forever in that room?"

"But you should rest!"

"I just did. Thor, I am fine." He looked at his brother in the eyes and tilted his head forward. Thor placed his hand on Loki's shoulder, in the crook of his neck. Loki swallowed. It was surprisingly nostalgic.

"Well at least we have to find you a proper bedroom. Steve, do you know where Stark is?" He turned to the soldier.

"No, I… JARVIS? Where is Tony?"

"He is currently on the floor below, shall I tell him that you are looking for him?" came the neutral voice from somewhere. Loki raised his head and looked at the ceiling surprised.

"That, my brother, is one of Stark's inventions, it is not a real person", said Thor smiling. Loki lowered his gaze.

"Hm, most interesting indeed", he said with a tone that implied that he wasn't interested at all.

"Would you ask him if there's a room somewhere for Loki?" Steve asked and after a moment the AI spoke again.

"Mr Stark kindly informs that Mr Loki can have any room he wants as long as he doesn't need to meet him himself. I may also tell you that I left out a generous amount of profanities."

"Thanks, JARVIS", Steve said and nodded to Thor. "I think the problem's solved."

... ... ...

After a while Thor and Steve returned to the sofa. Loki had stayed in his new room and Steve took the opportunity to discuss with Thor.

"Do you really trust him?" he asked and waited for an angry reply, but Thor just smiled.

"There is no trusting in my brother. But I do not believe he's going to be any threat right now. Otherwise he would have done it already."

"Maybe." Thor glanced at Steve and he continued quickly.

"I mean no harm for him, I promise. But you have to understand why I'm… suspicious."

"Of course!" Thor nodded. "Of course I understand your reasons. You don't know him like I do. Sometimes I too am confused, he is so very different from me. Has always been." He paused and looked out of the window.

"You should have known him before… before everything went wrong." There was a sad smile playing on Thor's lips as he went on. "He was amazing. Always keeping me out of trouble… I would have died many times if it wasn't for him. And I do not mean that he couldn't be amazing now, it's just… he has changed. And so have I."

Steve looked at Thor and understood that there probably was a lot more to tell than what he had just said, but Steve kept quiet. It wasn't his business.

"You know, for the first time I can actually picture you two as brothers", he said and smiled.

"Aye", Thor said softly. "I just hope that Loki can see it too."

... ... ...

Nine o'clock Bruce finished with his tests and cleaned the table. Well not all of it, but just that it looked like he had tried. He was surprised that he had managed to concentrate so well considering the new circumstances but on the other hand, he had had a lot of practice in controlling himself. Still, he was pleased.

Stark really hadn't lied when he had once said that the place was a candy land, because it was. The latest technology covered every spot of the floor, as well as many other floors. Bruce suspected that being a millionaire had something to do with it. The lights turned off as he waved his hand, leaving the space dark. Only a soft blue glow was left to guide the man out of the room and into the staircase. There was a lift, of course, but Bruce preferred using his own legs. Small spaces and all that, he thought he had a good reason to avoid those.

He had done well today. He was currently working with a small research SHIELD had given to him, the fourth one. It was funny to have a sort-of-official job again. But then again, he got money from that and he had never been rich, so it wasn't particularly a bad thing.

He needed something to drink.

Bruce went to the nearest fridge (which was closer than you would think), took a glass and filled it with orange juice he found. Alcohol was definitely not his thing. He supposed he could drink beer sometimes, but after all he'd been through before, and the fear that the Hulk would come out had made him avoid anything that had amount of intoxicating ingredients in it. Bruce put the juice back in the fridge and closed the door. Then he opened it again and took another glass, filled it and closed the door once more. He could as well check on their guest.

Loki had surprised him, in a good way. _A bag full of cats_ , he had said. He wouldn't say it now. Although he hadn't seen the god since the first time, so he couldn't be sure. Still, it was worth a try.

The room they had given to Loki was quiet when he arrived, but the light coming from under the door proved that he was awake. He had stayed inside the whole day and hadn't even showed up to eat or drink. Bruce lifted his hand and awkwardly managed to knock without dropping the glasses. After a quiet "You may enter", he pushed the door open and stepped in.

The room was modern and stylish. There was one huge bed, a sofa and a desk in the corner. Big windows were covered with curtains and the door leading to the washing room was closed. All the colours were either some shade of white or dark, save for a couple of golden cushions and a wooden wall. The lightning was soft and pleasant and warm. Loki himself was sitting on the sofa in a relaxed position, his legs lifted from the floor and stretched them in front of him on the soft couch. He had a book in his hands and Bruce had no idea where he had gotten that from. The pale eyes looked at him questioningly.

"I… I was thinking if you'd like to drink something", Bruce said and nodded at the glasses he was holding. Loki frowned and put the book away, moved his legs and stood up. Bruce had to marvel how gracefully he walked despite the fact that his body was probably aching pretty badly at the moment.

"Thank you", he said and took a glass. Then he returned on the sofa and stared at Bruce.

"You are being so kind", he finally said. The words held no emotion.

"I, um, I don't know, exactly – "

"But you are. And it is most confusing." Loki's eyes scanned him and Bruce felt uncomfortable.

"Anyone would do it", he muttered, but Loki disagreed again.

"No they wouldn't", he said and tilted his head. "Stark and Rogers are a perfect example of that, especially Stark." Bruce eyed Loki and saw again the change in him. Loki's tone wasn't accusing, nor was his position. The man in front of him was simply calm and curious, without any malignancy. Bruce walked closer and seated himself on the other end of the sofa, mainly because he felt like an idiot standing in the doorway and holding a glass of orange juice. He glanced at Loki warily, but the man didn't show any signs of irritation.

"I think they are wrong", Bruce said slowly, keeping his eyes on the glass in his hands.

"I do not understand." Loki's voice truly sounded like he didn't.

"Look", Bruce started, "Last time you were here it was all killing and threatening and blowing things up. Now you're being all nice and calm. You haven't threatened anyone or done anything wrong, and it seems that you're…" Bruce paused to look for the right word, "You're sort of… okay. I mean that you're not so…"

"Mad?" Loki offered.

"Yes… sorry." Bruce felt awkward.

"It is true. I wasn't quite myself then." Loki's gaze turned absent for a moment. "The previous months were not particularly pleasant." Bruce was having a hard time in believing that he was actually having a normal (sort of) conversation with Loki. Then he continued.

"I believe that you're not so bad, really." He intended to glance at Loki quickly but the expression on the god's face made him maintain his look. For a fleeting moment he actually thought that next to him was sitting a small, confused child despite his height.

The moment was quickly over. He turned his eyes away from Bruce, who decided it best to keep quiet. This totally wasn't something he had expected, he hadn't said anything _that_ shocking, had he?

After a moment he decided that he couldn't take it anymore and opened his mouth just to break the silence.

"Hmm, you're okay then…? I mean are the injuries getting better?"

"What? Oh yes. Yes, thank you", came Loki's absent reply.

"I'd better go", Bruce said and stood up. When he was at the door, he heard Loki's voice once more.

"Doctor Banner… Thank you for the juice." With that Bruce left and closed the door after him.

... ... ...

Loki watched as the Doctor left and turned his eyes to the glass in his hands. It was actually quite good.

He cursed himself for letting the emotions show on his face a minute ago. Was that truly all it took, a small mortal man telling him he wasn't quite as bad as a year ago? He had to get himself under control. But what that small, mortal man had said had sounded like he wasn't holding a grudge against Loki. Of course, he had voluntarily come into his room, but those words had made him feel almost like the small, mortal man was expecting to see him again. It was far from forgiveness, but still…

The room they had given him was quite acceptable too, although Loki was quite sure he wouldn't be here if it weren't for Thor. Stupid oaf. Like he couldn't care for himself. _Well, look where that got you_ , a small voice inside his head said and made Loki feel very annoyed.

Otherwise than the previous discussion, his day had been a complete waste of time. He had chosen a room for himself – he had demanded that it was on a different floor from the other bedrooms – and stayed there. For his delight, nobody had disturbed him and he had had time to organize his thoughts.

After that Loki had took a shower, which had been more enjoyable than what he wanted to admit. To be honest, he had been filthy, and even if the water made his wounds sting, the relaxed feeling afterwards was worth it. He didn't have any clothes for himself, so he had had to wear his old ones. At least he was able to clean them and not wear the bloodstains. After that, he had just read.

Loki drank the rest of his juice and placed the empty glass on a table. Then he got up and walked to the window. By moving the curtain aside, he could see the city opening beneath him. _The city that never sleeps_ , he thought and frowned. Didn't these people know how to be silent? For a minute he amused himself by imagining what they would say if they knew, who was watching them at the moment. Then he closed the curtain, walked to the bed and sat on its edge.

 _Well, it is nice to have a proper bed at least_ , he thought as he took his shirt off.


End file.
